Frozen
by JulietVargas
Summary: In the land of Eltilian five kingdoms coexisted in harmony, and each had been blessed with two precious children. However, all was not as perfect as it seemed. For one of each of the children had been born with unnatural powers. The powers of ice and snow. Main characters Nor, Ice, Eng, Can, Amer, Pru, Ger, Rom, Ita. Others: Spa, Den, Sea, Scott, various.
1. Prologue

(AN: So occasionally you can tell what I'm really into at the time based on what I write about or what little tidbits or phrases I put in every now and then...well this is one of those times. I present to you Frozen, done the Hetalia way and with a good amount of changes and additions. There are several different versions going on at the same time, Lovino and Feliciano's story will resemble Disney's the most. Hope you enjoy it! ;D)

Prologue~

In the land of Eltilian five kingdoms coexisted in harmony, and each had been blessed with two precious children. However, all was not as perfect as it seemed. For one of each of the children had been born with unnatural powers. The powers of ice and snow. And each kingdom handled this problem in different ways.

~*~Fz~*~

The king of Cidron had been pacing back and forth for hours with his little son Lukas watching him.

"Father, would this cheer you up?" Lukas opened his cupped hands where he had been nursing a tiny snowstorm and let it go into the air.

"Lukas!" the king snapped sharply, "What have I told you about carelessly using your ability?!"

The snowstorm immediately died and the young four year old turned away from his father with shame in his heart, not wanting to meet those harsh eyes that were looking at him with such coldness.

"I certainly hope my second child doesn't have your same curse." The king muttered as he turned back to the door where a midwife had just entered from the direction of the royal chambers.

"Congratulations your majesty." The woman smiled, "You're now the proud father of two healthy boys."

The king stood in excitement and headed into the room, completely forgetting his elder son. Lukas waited a few moments before he headed into the room as well with the midwife smiling down at him.

His mother was propped up with pillows behind her in the bed and she was smiling up at the king who was delightedly studying the baby boy in his arms.

"He's not much to look at right now, but he has hair already, surprisingly. Blond unsurprisingly. As for who he most resembles..."

"He's just like his brother." The queen smiled and turned her attention to her elder son, "Lukas darling. Come meet your new baby brother, Emil."

Both the king and Lukas looked uncertain, but the little boy came over to his mother at least, just to make sure that she was really ok after the ordeal of giving birth to Emil. He didn't really know what giving birth meant but the nurses in the kingdom had warned him that it was painful and dangerous and to be prepared, which of course had made him afraid. It appeared that his mother had been ok because she stroked his hair and smiled at him before turning back to her husband.

"Lukas should hold his little brother as well."

The king was about to protest but the look from his wife silenced him and he reluctantly handed over his precious new son to his _cursed_ child.

Lukas sat on the bed by his mother with his new baby brother in his arms. He looked down at the curious big blue eyes staring at him. He blinked his own purple-blue ones and little Emil copied him and smiled. Lukas was delighted that his baby brother had smiled for him and relaxed a bit, just a bit...but it was still too much. Instantly his hands began to glow with that strange violet light and started seeping into the baby in his arms.

"No!" the king shouted and snatched his baby son out of his older child's arms, knocking a stunned Lukas to the floor.

"How dare you!" the king shouted in anger, "Do you realize what you could have done! You've already caused damage, look!" the enraged king held out his baby son for his wife and Lukas to see.

Emil's little crop of light blond hair had turned to a shining silvery white and his blinking eyes were now an unusual shade of violet; his skin too had become paler than before.

Lukas was trembling from fear at his father's wrath and fear of what he had done. How far had his magic spread? If the outer appearance was so drastic, what had happened inside of Emil's little body?

"Dear..." the queen tried to calm her husband's anger but she had been shocked by what had happened as well and was slightly wary of her elder son as well now.

The king shook off her hand and pointed a trembling finger at Lukas.

"You are forbidden from having any contact with your brother from this day forward. Now get out of here djevelen! Get out!"

So Lukas fled, and only got to see Emil grow up through the rare moments that he left his own room.

As for Emil...he grew up with a curiosity about the brother he had been forbidden from playing with or having any contact with. Even on the rare occasions when a servant or his nurse was escorting him to a different place in the castle and they passed by Lukas, the nurse always made sure to steer him well away from the older boy and depending on who it was, they even sometimes made the sign against evil. His mother seemed to be the only one that actually still considered Lukas to be worth any kindness. She even tried to call him into the room where she and Emil were reading when she noticed him watching through the crack in the door. But Lukas had rushed off immediately, leaving Emil feeling worse about his brother than before and the queen looking crestfallen. But there was nothing for it, because even those in the castle that didn't know everything about his powers, could tell that something was changing in the king's older son. He secluded himself in his room for days on end, only accepting food and water through a crack in the door and immediately slamming it in the servants' faces afterwards. And when he did emerge from his room, he was always bundled in a large sweater that concealed every inch of his skin, apart from his hands which he covered instead with thick gloves. Yes it was clear even to the littlest kitchen maid that an unseen storm was raging inside of Lukas. The question that now remained was...when that storm would break lose.

~*~Fz~*~

As for the kingdom of Breagtrianti, the king and queen had given their child with the gift much more freedom. He was allowed to play with his older brother, not that the older boy wanted to play with his younger brother much of the time. Unfortunately, even though he had better control over his powers, Arthur still had a hard time keeping his ability in check when he felt angry or scared. For this reason, he had frozen far too many toys in the time that he and Scott were growing up. The last straw for the older prince had been when Arthur had accidentally frozen his favorite hunting dog out of frustration that Scott had been allowed to go on the hunting trip with their father. Scott had screamed and threatened him until the room was covered in a thick layer of frost and the older boy was curled up in on himself trying to keep his skin from joining the room. The king and queen had managed to break in at that moment and whisked Scott out of the room. Arthur had insisted that it wasn't his fault and he had been provoked, but the king and queen were more wary of him after that day and made sure to be present when he played with his new baby brother Peter, and Scott pointedly ignored him.

And from that day on, Arthur began to take his own precautions to not let his power get out of hand again. He tried to avoid contact with anyone outside of his family and began enclosing himself in his room in order to release his powers in a way that couldn't hurt anyone else, before they broke free on their own. The king and queen became increasingly worried about their middle son and Peter took to spending hours on end just sitting outside of his brother's room and knocking on the door every time the clock in the hall chimed. He would stay that way until his mother or father came and physically picked dragged him away. And so the years passed in Breagtrianti.

~*~Fz~*~

The king and queen of Meraica handled the problem of the winter powers in yet another way. When they had first met, after being engaged to each other, the king had introduced his future queen to his baby son. He made her aware that he had been in love with the boy's mother but she had died giving birth to their child. He expressed his sincere hope that the future queen would be as loving to his little Mattie as he was certain the boy's mother would have been. And simply to please the king, the woman had said yes. But when the baby boy began clapping and snowflakes sprang forth from between his fingers, the queen's true feelings had appeared through her horror. And the day that she had given birth to her own child with the king, little Matthew's life had changed forever.

"I don't want that child anywhere near our little prince!" the queen hissed as the king had brought Matthew in to meet his baby brother.

The king's eyes had turned harsh.

"_This child _as you refer to him, is my son and he has every right to meet his new brother."

"He would," the queen nodded, securely wrapping her child up to hide him, "Were it not for those cursed powers he carries!"

Matthew cringed away from the voice into his father's arms.

"He's still a little child. You can't expect him to have control over them yet." The king countered.

"And if he can't control them then he is a danger to our precious Alfred...and to us for that matter. Take him away."

The king sighed, he may have authority but he still had yet to hold his new son and it was clear that his queen was going to stubborn until he took Matthew out of the room.

Matthew was still confused about what was going on but the queen's tone scared him and he began to wail, throwing out his hands in despair and releasing a small snow storm into the room.

The queen shrieked and huddled farther back into the bed, shielding her new baby from the icy blast.

"You see what I mean!" she shouted, "Get him out! Get him out! And keep him away from our son!"

As the king hurriedly left the room with his terrified older child, he promised himself that he would find a way to help Matthew control his powers so that he and Alfred could actually be together as brothers. But this was never to be, for the king was obliged to leave on a matter of business soon after...and he never returned.

In his stead, the queen made certain to keep good on her words and kept Matthew and Alfred apart, shunning her late husband's first child and giving the order that everyone in the castle was to ignore him unless it had something to do with his powers, then they were to shut him away so that he couldn't hurt anyone. So it was that Matthew became like a ghost in his own home, and was forced to watch his younger brother from around corners and through cracks and keyholes in doors for fear of being discovered and punished by being shut in his dark room once more.

As for Alfred...the energetic boy grew up not even knowing that he had an older brother and wondering who it was that always seemed to be watching him. And in a secret room in his father's old study, he stared at a picture of his father holding a little toddler boy that was laughing and happy, with light snowflakes that appeared to be coming from his hands, and wondered why this child, who according to the inscription on the picture frame was called Matthew, was being looked at so lovingly by the king.

~*~Fz~*~

The kingdoms of Daschetnuld and Talaii were closer to each other in both location, relations, and the exact same event that lead their kings to seek help from the forest folk. Elves had lived in the forest between the two kingdoms long before there even had been established strongholds. And for this reason, they carried with them much wisdom and experience.

The particular morning that their services had been requested was after the night that the twin grandson's of King Romulus Vargas of Talaii had celebrated their 5th birthday. The evening had been filled with lots of laughter and a visit from King Hanz Beilschmidt of Daschetnuld and his two grandsons, eight year old Gilbert and four year old Ludwig. The four boys had been inseparable for the entire evening and when they had been left alone Feliciano and Lovino Vargas' room, both Lovino and Gilbert had entertained their brother's with their winter magic. Feliciano was always delighted by his brother's powers and he was equally delighted that Gilbert had the same gift. He and Ludwig took turns in guessing what shape the little snow flurries were taking and all were disappointed when their grandfathers appeared to tell them that the festivities had ended and it was time for Hanz and his grandsons to leave. Feliciano had been so upset and had hugged onto Ludwig so tight, not wanting to be separated from his new playmate. He was so upset when they were finally separated that he screamed and kicked all the way up to the room that he and Lovino shared. Lovino was equally upset to be separated from Hanz's grandchildren. He had been thrilled to have a playmate that had the same powers which he did. Now he was lying awake in bed with Feliciano clinging to him with such a vice-like grip, while his thoughts went back over the evening's events and wondering how he could do some of the tricks with his powers that Gilbert had been able to do.

"Lovi?" his brother's little voice whispered in the dark, "Are you awake?"

"Yes, why?" Lovino whispered back.

"I miss Ludwig."

"I can't do anything about that." Lovino yawned.

"You can play with me instead." Feliciano sat up and looked down at his brother.

"Come on Lovi please!" Feliciano's voice was growing louder and more insistent."Please! Please! Let's play with snow!"

"Ok. Ok." Lovino laughed and got up taking a cheering Feliciano's hand and leading the way silently to the ballroom. Earlier, the ballroom had been filled with people that had come for their birthday, but now it was completely empty and all of the chairs and tables had been removed.

"Come on Lovi!" Feliciano begged, dragging his brother all the way into the room and struggling to shut the big doors behind them. Lovino laughed again and helped his younger twin to close the heavy doors. Then he turned to the room with bright eyes.

"Ready?"

"Stop teasing me Lovi!" Feliciano giggled, "You know I'm ready!"

Lovino smiled.

"Then watch this!"

He threw his hands up into the air and a much larger torrent of snow poured forth than ever before. It flew up into the sky and spread out over the entire ceiling, then snowflakes began pouring down all over the room.

"Yay!" Feliciano shouted in delight and ran about trying to catch as many snowflakes on his tongue as he could.

"Lovino began making even more snow appear till there were huge mounds all around them and the two boys were running and jumping into the piles in delight, laughing so loudly that it woke their grandfather up."Those boys." Romulus Vargas yawned and smiled sleepily, "I guess I have to go drag them back to bed or they'll crash from exhaustion tomorrow."

"Feli, do you want to build a snowman?" Lovino asked after another successful snow pile tumble.

"Yes!" the younger boy clapped with delight and began rolling snow around to start making the sections of the snowman.

"Those are two big Feli." Lovino shook his head, "This isn't our usual snowman. We're going to make a snowcat."

Feliciano's bright amber eyes grew even wider and he hugged his brother in delight.

"Oh Lovi! A kitty? We're gonna make a kitty?!"

Lovino laughed and nodded. The two boys began making a snowcat in the semblance of one of the stray castle cats that roamed about the halls looking for rodents and scraps of food. When they were done Feliciano named it Cream and turned to his brother in excitement.

"Can you make it move Lovi? Can you make it be alive?"

Lovino frowned at their creation and shook his head.

"No Feli I don't think I can. I wish I could, for you."

Feliciano looked disappointed but when he saw that his brother looked sad he quickly made himself smile again and came up with a different idea.

"That's ok. Hey Lovi why don't we play jump again?"

"You almost fell last time." Lovino looked worried.

"I'll be ok. I'm a good jumper." Feliciano insisted, "Come on!"

And with that he started jumping from one small pile to the next until Lovino relented and began shooting piles out before his brother. But as Feliciano kept jumping faster than Lovino anticipated, the boys fear began to grow and so did the piles. Each became higher and higher and Lovino began shouting out to his brother.

"Feli, slow down! I can't keep up! I'm not going to catch you soon!"

But Feliciano was too delighted to pay any attention and he jumped before he realized that their wasn't another pile of snow waiting for him.

"NO!" Lovino shouted in terror and threw his magic towards his brother in desperation at stopping his fall. But the power struck Feliciano rather than landing below him and the little boy's eyes instantly snapped shut and he began plummeting to the floor.

"NO! NO!" Lovino wailed and dived over to intercept his brother. He used his magic to propel himself and caught Feliciano in midair. They both crashed into a mound of snow where Lovino began shaking his younger twin desperately.

"Feli! Feli wake up! FELI!"

Romulus heard the screams and rushed to the rooms. The door handles were ice-cold to the touch and when he pushed on them the doors wouldn't budge. But with much force and determination he forced the frozen doors to open and rushed into the room.

Lovino looked up as his grandfather entered and huge fat tears began streaming down his cheeks.

"Feli's not waking up! I tried to stop him from falling but I...it's...it's not my fault!" he wailed and buried his face in his brother's auburn-brown hair.

Romulus rushed over and lifted his younger grandson out of Lovino's trembling arms.

"He's cold as ice." Romulus shivered and wrapped his night robe around Feliciano's small frame desperately trying to get the boy warm.

"I'm sorry." Lovino sobbed and clutched onto his grandfather's leg, "It was an accident. I didn't mean to..."

"Hush" Romulus snapped and turned towards the window where the moon and stars still shown brightly.

"We have only one choice. We need to speak with someone who knows about your powers and how to deal with an accident that involves them."

Within the hour, Romulus was riding through the nearby forest with his twin grandsons tucked securely in his arms under his cloak. It wasn't long after they reached the track to the elf village when they were joined by Hanz Beilschmidt on his own horse with Gilbert clinging to his back and Ludwig, unconscious, in his arms.

"You had an accident as well Hanz?" Romulus looked worriedly at the little blond haired boy.

"I didn't mean to." Gilbert whimpered against his grandfather's back, "I just wanted to show him more of my magic so he would be proud of his big brother but..."

"Your magic went wrong and hit him instead." Lovino finished with a sob.

Gilbert nodded and hid his face in shame and despair once more.

"If Lutz doesn't wake up...I'll never forgive myself."

"The elves will be able to help." Romulus spoke the assurance not to just Gilbert, but to all of them.

"We will certainly try." A voice replied from their left and they both looked over to find an elf woman running beside them. She motioned for them to follow her and they did so without question.

She lead them to a clearing where the elf chief stood waiting.

"Lay them on this stone. Do not worry, the moss on it is soft and will cushion them." He spoke to them with authority and waited for the two kings to comply.

When they were settled safely on the stone, the elf chief laid his hands upon Ludwig and Feliciano's brows.

"You are fortunate that the magic hit here. If it had hit their hearts, there would be nothing I could do for them."

"Then there is something you can do now?" Romulus asked with relief.

"Yes, fortunately the head can be persuaded and memories can be altered. Except..." he stopped and lifted his hand from Ludwig's brow with a frown, "It appears that this child has a strong mind which doesn't want the memories tampered with."

"What does that mean?" Hanz asked looking at his younger grandson, "Can you not save him then?"

The elf chief shook his head and turned to Hanz and Gilbert.

"I can still save him, but it comes at the price of all his memories."

Gilbert caught his breath. "You mean he won't remember anything? He won't even know who his family is?"

The elf chief nodded sadly.

"And when he does wake up and you remind him who you are and who he is, it would be best to never let him know of the powers that the elder prince has."

Gilbert was shocked. "He can't know I have winter magic?"

"No he cannot." He turned to Romulus and Lovino, "The same goes for your younger grandson as well. While the memories of being close and playing together will remain, he will have no memory that several of those times involved his brother's powers. And he should not know of them from now on."

Lovino looked down at the ground and shuffled his feet.

"If it's for the best." Romulus sighed and lifted Feliciano into his arms as Hanz collected Ludwig as well.

"Before you go, come here young ones." The elf chief instructed the older boys. Lovino and Gilbert came forward and the elf chief took one of their hands in each of his own.

"You carry great power in you. I hope that in time you will be able to control it but be cautious. Your magic holds great beauty but it also contains the possibility for great danger and chaos. I pity the two of you and can only hope that your future will be brighter than it appears at the moment."

He dropped their hands with a sad smile and they returned to their grandparents. The group left the clearing and headed back along the trail until the fork where Hanz stopped.

"I believe this is goodbye Romulus. I will close the gates of my castle and reduce the staff to ensure that Gilbert's powers remain a secret."

"I feel I must do the same." Romulus nodded. He looked down at Lovino who had fallen asleep in his arms with his unconscious brother. A sad look came over his face as he realized the other hard decision he would have to make.

"Goodbye old friend." He smiled at Hanz and continued on the track towards his kingdom.

When he entered he gave the order.

"Open the extra room in the top west hallway. My heir will be moved there starting this night."

The staff hurried off to do the kings bidding while he looked down to find Lovino staring up at him.

"You're separating us?" the boy's voice was soft but it still held painful accusation.

"It's for the best Lovino. You have a hard time controlling your powers and Feliciano is too curious and would find out eventually."

"So you're going to keep us completely apart?" Lovino's voice sounded even more hurt than before.

Romulus sighed.

"Just until you can control your powers."

"And if I never can?"

Romulus didn't look at his older grandchild but his voice shook when he spoke next.

"Do you want this to happen again? Don't you want your brother to be safe? Even if it means that you have to be separated?"

Lovino started sobbing and clutched onto his grandfather.

"No I don't want to hurt him, but..." he choked on his tears and his voice got even softer, "All right...I'll do it...for Feli...because I love him."

Romulus sighed and kissed his sorrowed grandson's forehead as he came to the now open room in west hallway. He set Lovino onto the coverlet of the bed and gave him a sad smile before he left, locking the door behind him.


	2. Chapter 1

(AN: So I realized I didn't put this on the last chapter and I should have but here's the warning. If you haven't seen Frozen yet and pan to, then I suggest not reading this yet. There will be spoilers; I guarantee it!)

Ch.1: Do you want to build a snowman?

Romulus was correct in assuming that his younger grandson was overly curious and would have found out his brother's secret again if they hadn't been separated. Feliciano rarely ever saw his brother anymore and when he did it was always when their grandfather was present, and when he would run over and hug Lovino, his twin did not hug him back anymore. It really hurt and Feliciano didn't understand what had happened to make Lovino change so much. And he determined that he was going to try and fix their bond and make Lovino play with him again, without their grandfather interfering.

Romulus Vargas had succeeded in keeping the two boys apart, but he couldn't stop Feliciano from always trying to change that. And so it was to Lovino's door that the young five year old stole whenever he got a chance.

"Lovi?" he tapped on the door, "Do you want to build a snowman?"

"It's the middle of summer." The reply came making Feliciano smile and tap again.

"Lovi come on let's play."

This time silence met him and a discouraged Feliciano sat back and stared at the door with folded arms.

"Come on Lovi!" he whined, "Why have things between us changed? It's like I never see you anymore. Come out the door." He giggled at his rhyme and waited but there was still silence so he leaned forward and tapped once more.

"Lovi? Do you want to build a snowman? Or it doesn't have to be a snowman."

"Go away Feli." His brother's muffled voice came from the other side of the door.

Feliciano looked at the floor in disappointment and sniffled.

"Ok. Bye."

Romulus watched his younger grandchild walk dejectedly down the hall before he approached the same door and tapped.

"Lovino? It's your grandfather. Let me in."

Lovino did so and jumped back immediately as frost began covering the doorknob. Romulus stepped into the room and looked at it before shaking his head.

"I have something for you." He produced a pair of gloves from his pocket and held them out, "I think these should help somewhat."

Lovino took the gloves, careful not to actually touch his grandfather. He slipped them over his hands and nervously turned towards a drawer in his room. He reached out a tentative finger and just tapped the surface. When nothing happened he wrapped his entire hand around the handle. When nothing still happened he turned to Romulus in relief and excitement.

"It's contained. This means I can..."

"No." Romulus said pointedly and opened the door, "You still can't. What if you lose them while playing with him?"

Lovino looked at the ground as Romulus closed the door behind him, shutting Lovino in his lonely cold room again.

~*~Fz~*~

Feliciano had drifted off to sleep but when he heard the door slam the ten year old awoke with a start and peeked around the hallway corner to make sure that no one was there before he ran off down it to stop in front of the familiar door.

"Lovi?" he tapped on the door, "Do you want to build a snowman?"

"Why do you always ask that in July?" the annoyed voice replied making Feliciano laugh happily and tap again.

"Then we could ride our bikes along the halls."

"And get everyone mad at us." Lovino's voice sounded even more annoyed.

"Nobody ever gets mad at me. Please Lovi?" He sat back and stared at the door just waiting. When no reply came he frowned and tapped with his feet this time.

"Come on Lovi! I haven't seen you in weeks. I think some company is overdue. I've started talking to the pictures on the walls! Did you know that our great great grandfather lost his leg to a lion?"

There was still no reply and Feliciano moved up closer so that he was hugging his knees with his chin resting on top of them.

"Please Lovi? It gets a little lonely. There's so many empty rooms and I sometimes just watch the hours tick by." He tapped again.

"Do you want to build a snowman?"

"Go away Feliciano."

The young boy hid his tears in his knees and sniffled as he got up, wiping his eyes and nose on his sleeve as he walked away down the hall.

On the other side of the door. Lovino was pacing in irritation and looking down at his hands, his newest pair of gloves were doing their job but he could still feel the cold power on the surface of his enclosed hands and it was growing stronger by the day. His grandfather had stated what he must do quite clearly.

"Conceal and don't feel." Romulus had said as he handed the latest pair of gloves over, "Emotions make your power stronger and more difficult to control. Fear and anger are your enemies."

As Romulus had made to leave the room Lovino spoke what was eating at his insides.

"I'm never going to gain enough control am I?"

Romulus had stopped but did not turn around as he replied.

"It's still too soon to say...but I don't think so. Not to the point where he would be safe."

Lovino stopped pacing and looked at the door where his brother had been talking to him before.

"Yes Feli..." he leaned his head against the wood and let some tears fall from his eyes, "I would like to build a snowman."

~*~Fz~*~

The years passed by and with each, Lovino's power grew stronger and harder to control. And with his eighteenth year, Lovino watched from the shadows by the staircase as Feliciano was presented to a small number of trusted guests in the candle lit ballroom. His younger brother was elated to be meeting anybody. He bowed and had a hard time controlling his excitement and it made Lovino sad rather jealous that he couldn't be there too. But when Feliciano looked up and caught him watching and called out, he ran back to his room as fast he could and slammed the door.

And then the day came.

A light tapping sounded on his door and Lovino turned to it with his usual apprehension.

"Lovi? Do you want to build a snowman?" Feli's voice came soft through the thick wood.

Lovino was about to give an annoyed retort but Feliciano's voice came again.

"Just kidding. Grandfather's leaving on business, with King Beilschmidt, today and the boat is ready to depart soon. Won't you come and say goodbye?"

Lovino stopped himself from grabbing the handle and gave a simple reply.

"No."

He waited but there were no pleads from the other side of the door. Tentatively, he opened it. Feliciano was gone. He closed the door again and went to the window, looking out over the harbor where his grandfather and brother were sharing a hug in front of the ship that was flying two sets of colors. Theirs and Daschetnuld's. He let the curtain fall as his brother's and grandfather's eyes turned towards the window.

And that was the last time he ever saw his grandfather. The ship never reached its destination and never returned back to their harbor. The people waited for several weeks for any news of survivors stranded on nearby islands, but when none came, the declaration was made. The king was dead. And the country was in mourning.

At the funeral, a large stone was elegantly carved and engraved and set beside the graves of Romulus's wife, daughter, and son in law. Feliciano was only able to stand the sympathetic pats and questions for so long before he dashed back into the castle in his long black cloak and made his way to the door that looked so lonely and slightly forbidding. He hesitated a moment before tapping.

"Lovi?"

He took a deep breath before he began to speak.

"Please, I know you're in there. People have been asking where you've been."

He leaned against the doorway and his voice got even lower.

"They've told me to have courage and I'm trying to. I really am. And you know I'm here for you. Please just let me in."

He leaned his back against the door and began to slide down.

"We only have each other now. It's just you and me. What are we going to do?"

He looked up at the ceiling through blurred eyes and choked out the sentence that he had come to just naturally associate to talking with his brother.

"Do you want to build a snowman?"

Then he burst into tears and sobbed against his knees.

On the other side of the door, Lovino looked up through equally blurred eyes at the blizzard swirling around his room. Every inch was covered in ice and the crystalline layer that covered his window had formed itself into patterns of tombstones and skeletons. He didn't dare let out a loud enough cry for Feliciano to hear but he silently cried for the grandfather that had forced him to stay away from his brother. But now that he saw what happened when his emotions truly did get the better of him, he knew that the old man had been wise and that he would strive desperately to control the torrent of power inside him.

"Conceal." He whispered into his trembling hands, "Don't feel. Don't let anyone know."

~*~Fz~*~

Gilbert too found himself reminded of these words as he stood on the balcony of the room that would soon become his. Ludwig stood just inside looking at his older brother.

"You'll be king soon Gilbert. You need to get more control of your outward emotions."

"Conceal." Gilbert whispered again, "Don't feel."

"Yes." Ludwig nodded. He was now taller than his twenty one year old brother and more muscularly built despite being just seventeen. Sometimes it bothered him how much his brother never seemed to grow or change in the least.

"That's good council for yourself." Ludwig continued coming over and placing a hand on Gilbert's shoulder.

The older boy guffawed and turned to his brother with a smirk.

"Yeah sure I'll do just that."

He left the room and started off towards his own with a single thought running through his mind.

_Lutz, I've been following that council since you were four years old, but not for the reason that you think I should._

~*~Fz~*~

Daschetnuld and Talaii were not the only ones to lose their king that year though, Cidron had suffered the same fate and the queen found herself finally in a position to change a situation that had bothered her for many years. She sat in her royal chambers with Emil as they talked about the king's great accomplishments and she praised her younger son at how handsome he had become and what a little gentlemen he was. Then she noticed a shadowy figure by the slightly open doorway and smiled.

"Lukas?"

The shadow briefly disappeared but the queen stood up and went to the doorway opening it all the way and grabbing her son's arm as he tried to run.

"Come in here now Lukas. Come and be with myself and your brother in this time of sorrow."

Emil looked in wonder at the brother he had never been allowed to spend time with. Lukas was taller than him, well he was four years older than Emil, with light blond hair and slightly dull purple-blue eyes. He seemed to keep his head down and showed only a thin expressionless line on his face as his mother dragged him over. The one thing that made Lukas stand out at all was the strange curl of hair that was so thin it almost seemed to be floating away from his head...that and the fact that he was wearing gloves inside.

The queen smiled and forced Lukas to sit in a chair across from his brother.

"Isn't this nice?" the queen asked as she poured a cup of tea for her older son, "I think your father would be glad that we're all together to share each other's company and comfort at this hard time."

Emil didn't even think before he spoke.

"No he wouldn't. He would be upset that I'm so close to my brother."

The queen was about to reprimand her son but Lukas stood up with a quiet, "I'm leaving" and did just that.

The queen tried to call after him but the boy didn't respond at all this time and soon he was far out of sight. The queen sighed before she turned to Emil who was staring at the door.

"You know I'm right." The fourteen year old said quietly.

The queen just burst into more tears than she had already shed that day.

Emil continued to stare at the door with an unreadable expression but his mind was replaying the brief encounter he had had with his brother that afternoon. Lukas had been both what he expected and at the same time not, though that confused him greatly.

(Shorter than the prologue but that's because it didn't involve as many of the different kingdoms. They will return in the next few chapters though. Never fear!)


End file.
